PrevenSida

Overview

PrevenSida is an innovative USAID project to support research and implementation to increase healthy behavior among key populations at higher risk of HIV infection and reduce HIV transmission by increasing condom use, access to counseling, HIV testing promotion, and reducing the number of sexual partners.

Funded by PEPFAR, the project’s activities encompass five programmatic areas: strengthening institutional capacity of NGOs serving most at-risk populations (MARPs) and people living with HIV (PLHIV); improving access to and quality of HIV preventive services; reducing stigma and discrimination; improving the participation of NGOs representing MARPs and PLHIV in the HIV/AIDS national response; and improving the generation, dissemination, and use of HIV strategic information with key populations in Central America. The project serves Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Panama.

Key Activities

Regional Strategic Information: Based on the successful experience of Nicaragua, PrevenSida offers technical and financial support to other countries in Central America to develop research related to the access of key populations to the community-based care continuum cascade; determinants of health among key populations; logistics needs assessments for NGOs under the universal HIV treatment strategy; and characteristics of the HIV epidemic in sub-populations.

Institutional Strengthening/Quality Improvement: The project supports NGOs to train their staff in the continuum of care model using the care cascade as an exercise to analyze local gaps in care for people with HIV.

Continuum of Care: PrevenSida supports NGOs to deliver a core package of HIV combination prevention services, including counseling and testing by mobile teams, community-based clinical assessment, CD4 testing through a mobile unit, community-based psychological care for PLHIV and transgender persons, linkage to health care services, and community care to support retention in treatment and care.

Knowledge Management/Strategic Information. PrevenSida promotes knowledge transfer across NGOs, HIV prevention services beneficiaries, and the community. The project also supports monthly electronic bulletins that disseminate best practices and applied research findings with public, private, academic institutions and civil society; collaborative learning sessions; and research dissemination forums in each country.

Performance evaluation of the NGO logistics strengthening component of the DELIVER Project

Logistic capabilities of NGOs involved in the national response to HIV in Nicaragua

Mobile CD4: Bridging gaps in access to ART for PLHIV in 12 departments of Nicaragua

Effectiveness of peer interventions to improve access to HIV testing for key populations

HIV Continuum of Care: Differences in care and treatment among key populations

Analysis of the effectiveness of the combination prevention model implemented by PrevenSida in key populations, 2011-2016

Final performance evaluation of the USAID Nicaragua HIV Quality Improvement components in PrevenSida and ASSIST

Honduras

Special study of the HIV epidemic among the Garifuna population in Honduras: HIV epidemiological profile in Garifuna population; Assessment of risk factors using a community survey; Continuum of Care: HIV cascade in Garifuna population; and Institutional capacities to prevent and control HIV among the Garifuna population.

Social determinants of health in key populations: MSM, Transgender, and Sex Workers.